[USS Tempest] "Dramatic First Impressions"

 Dramatic First Impressions 

*by Lt. Cmdr. Paul Robinson, Cpt. Lindsey Craig and Ensigns Pim Van der Pol 
and Rey Tren*

Paul moved through the hub-bub of brass and youth aboard DS9, heading for 
the docking ring. He paused a moment to watch the wormhole as it shed a sea 
of coloured light across the deck he was on. He stared in awe that he would 
soon be embarking on an unknown voyage through it and wondered what lay 
beyond. Pulling himself back together, he allowed his mind to refocus on the 
task in hand: finding the Captain of the USS Tempest.

Upon setting foot aboard the ship, he stopped a moment to touch the 
bulkheads on his way to the Ready Room, and murmured a blessing under his 
breath. He wasn't sure why he did it but it was a ritual he went through 
with every ship he'd served under. Upon reaching the Ready Room, he pressed 
the door com, "Lieutenant Commander Robinson Ma'am - reporting for duty."

Lindsey glanced up at the unfamiliar voice. "Come in, Lieutenant Commander." 
Once the doors opened, she waved a hand to a chair. "Take a seat."

Paul took the seat in front of him. "Reporting as ordered Ma'am. I was told 
you had further details of my post aboard this amazing vessel."

"Amazing?" Lindsey perked an eyebrow. "She's one hell of a ship, I'll admit 
that. Well..." Glaring at the repairs list in front of her, she frowned. 
"She will be. Robinson..." The name clicked somewhere in her mind and she 
smiled. "Ah yes, Flight Ops. Have you been down to the Hanger Bay yet?"

"Not yet, I thought it best to advise you that I had arrived and was on 
board first." Paul read her facial expressions, "Any problems I should be 
aware of?"

"One or two." Sighing deeply, she leaned back in her seat, plopped her feet 
up on the desk and rubbed a finger in a line above her right eyebrow. "We're 
having system difficulties all over the ship. I've had reports of even some 
of the autonomous systems like those on board the fighters being affected. 
But Lieutenant Le Beau is on it, so it'll all be fine." Now why didn't she 
sound convincing?

Paul looked at his Captain quizically, "Sounds like I may need to meet those 
in my department and find out exactly what these 'issues' are then. With 
your kind permission I'll go to Flight Ops straight away?"

"Of course. Just don't break anything else, okay?" She winked at him and 
went back to her reports.
------------------------------

"Oh for fuck's sake!" Pim kicked the side of the fighter in frustration 
before storming another circuit around the delapidated craft.

"Roberta Pimlico Van der Pol, could you please shut the fuck up? I'm working 
here." Rey glowered at her from underneath the ship. He watched her feet 
stomp off and sighed. All they'd wanted to do was go for a quick test run. 
That's all. Hitting the offending circuitry with his magnaspanner, Rey let 
his head bang off the hanger deck floor.

Muttering to herself about broken things, Pim didn't even notice the man 
directly in the doorway as she waltzed through it. She walked straight into 
him. "Watch where you're going, will you?"

"Hey there!! I could say the same for you. I take it you're Pim then? I'm 
your commanding officer, Kip is my callsign," he said extending his hand 
with a smirk on his face.

Taking a step back, she eyed him suspisiously. "And how d'you know who I am? 
You're not a friend of my father, are you?"

Paul threw his head back and laughed, "Not that I'm aware of, but what with 
your language and that of your friend here," he waved a hand towards Rey, "I 
couldn't help but overhear your conversation!" Looking down at the PADD he 
held, he made the connection. "You must be 'Reynard'? "

Shoving himself to feet, Rey gave a graceful bow to his rather dashing CO. 
"Ofelian Tren, at your service, sir. Though most call me Rey." He chuckled 
as he took the hand that Pim had turned her nose up at. "Kip, you say? Hmm, 
you've got a bit of a reputation, sir."

Kip chuckled to himself. "Really? Well you'd better let me know what it is 
so I can live up to it then!" Turning back to Pim he said, "I take it from 
your disdain earlier that all is not well with the ship?"

"S'broken," she said sullenly.

Rey rolled his eyes. "What my eloquent friend is trying to say is that the 
fighter assigned to us is experiencing faults throughout its propulsion 
systems."

"Yeah and you can't fix it!" She folded her arms under her breasts.

"Well at least what I'm doing is productive," Rey retorted.

"Productive? Have you managed to get the thing off the ground in the last 
three hours?"

"Hey, I'm not the one who thought that kicking it would make it all better!"

"It achieved about the same as any of your tinkering."

"I was getting there, I think I've got it figured and then you go and put a 
dent in the side of my fighter!"

"Your fighter? And how is it your fighter?"

"Without me, you'd be lost within five minutes of being out of the hanger 
bay. Not to mention the fact that I'm the one who keeps her in the air."

"There's no air in space," Pim sulked.

Rey chose to ignore her but turned an exasperated smile on Kip. "So, yes, as 
she said, it's broken."

Smirking, Paul said, "The Captain informs me that this is not likely to be 
an isolated incident either. Apparently there are shipwide faults and 
issues. If you could do up a report for the Chief Engineer, in meticulous 
detail, we'll see what we can get done. Until then I suggest you both relax 
while you have the chance. The Gamma Quadrant is unlikely to give us any of 
that once we get there." He smiled at both of them, "Let me buy you both a 
drink, if I may? Get away from this for now and clear our heads."

A bright smile suddenly spread over Pim's face although Rey flinched. 
"Somewhere that I can have a smoke, if at all possible." She patted her 
pocket.

"Oh dear God," Rey muttered as he followed the others out.

"Somewhere you can smoke eh? I think I know just the place," he said, 
smiling back at Pim. "You ever been to Vic's?"

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